Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx (Lux #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ☆☆☆☆

Wow. Just wow. So much happened in this book. Which is weird because the reviews I came across said nothing happened in this book and it was so boring. Did they read the same book? Seriously.

1. I didn't really like the way the first one ended because I thought Daemon was getting out of character with his feelings. I still kind of felt that way in this one too. He seemed to lose too much of his arrogance and snark, at least around her. And it was one of the things I loved about him, and even about them together. Though...reading the scenes from his point-of-view from Obsidian in the back of that book did help to piece together his seeming character change. [It also made me hate him slightly less after that cafeteria fiasco.]

2. So so so much sexual tension. They end up making out every where, no matter how many times she tells him it shouldn't happen because they don't feel anything for each other. None of the make out sessions are quite like the one he walked away from in the first book, but they still created tension. And it's hilarious that she keeps denying their feelings for each other. A large part of her denial is that she's upset with how he treated her in the first book, and hurt by it, so I'm screaming at him to tell her everything that was in his point-of-view from the back of the first book. Tell her what really happened at lunch!! Though he did have some incredible will power in the end.

3. Things get twisted. If their growing sexual tensions and denials of such weren't drama enough, throw in some extra super powers, a new kid in town that's suspicious, and huge connection to Dawson and Bethany's story and you have more drama than one person can deal with. Plus, we learn that there is more to the DOD than can be expected. While I didn't have as many suspicions about Blake as everyone else did, I still screamed at her to walk away when he was becoming too dangerous. She should have listened. It was more than Daemon being jealous and hurt and she knew it. But I had major suspicions about who turned in Dawson and Bethany which proved to be true, but was surprising in that I didn't realize he had already made an appearance in the story. Somehow I thought he was older the first time around.

4. While there are a lot of things unanswered (such as Bethany), and rightfully so to leave more to be discovered in he next novel, there were also things that were painful. I wished so so much that Blake wasn't as horrible as he was. It was beyond what I could handle in the end. I'm still really sad about it all. I was also shocked with and for Daemon with the people he crossed to protect Katy. And most especially, I realized that Katy was incredibly strong and incredibly stupid. She should have learned to trust her instincts, but she let emotional connections prevail every time. And I would have given up in her situation in the end when she kept fighting.

It did lose a star. And it was a very important star to lose with me. While I love the characters and the story, the passage of time was awkward and felt forced. "This happened and then this happened." One of my biggest fears as a writer is that kind of story telling. I've always been a short story writer and writing a novel made me nervous in that I wasn't sure how to fill in gaps in time without going through the motions of this then that then this. It's fine to do that in a rough draft, but it should be fleshed out at final draft. So it lost a star in delivery.

Although ending on a cliffhanger, this was the perfect cliffhanger to end on. It's enough that I'm satisfied where this one ended and also excited to read the next. The first book had a cliffhanger that seemed to end mid-scene so I had to keep reading the books to figure out what was happening. This one ended perfectly, that while I really want to read the next one, I can also stop and go read some other things I need to read first. Still a great series!

The Arrangement 10 by H.M. Ward

The Arrangement 10 (Arrangement series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

And it has arrived! I'd been waiting on this one. Sadly, my wait was in vain as this was pretty disappointing. Not disappointing in that I'd give it 3 stars though. In fact, I apparently had given in 5 stars on Goodreads until I started writing this review and then went back and changed it to 4 stars.

1. For an erotica series, nothing really happened in this segment. Sure, there was a lot of sexual tension, but that was it. Tension. She keeps denying what she wants and making excuses while he...is doing his own thing.

2. This is where the segment should have dropped to 3 stars or even maybe less... This series has been built entirely on the sexual tension and the drama. I've already said it was lacking in the first. These segments have always ended with major cliffhangers that leave you dying to read more. The reason is the amount of drama. Just when something starts to tie up, everything goes to hell and Avery is thrown into more shit than she knows what to do with. This has been a given. And plenty of things were on the table for this segment to start that I was looking forward to it. But it all wrapped up way too easily, tied in a pretty bow. Amber just gives in? The videos are just handled? Everything goes beautifully? And Black doesn't even appear...yet. The drama was gone.

3. The characters were already changing way too much in the last one, slipping from their originally set up characters. In this one, it's even more so. Not only is Avery still changing, but Sean seems like a completely different character, and not in the cathartic moment sense of the phrase. He just is someone else entirely. This of course leads to the inevitable cliff hanger ending, which wasn't really a cliffhanger. The book says tune in to see what Sean says next, but it's beyond obvious. I'm not as excited to read the next, but I will because I'm emotionally invested in figuring out where this is going to go.

Although these reasons seem like more than enough to drop it more than one star, I didn't because it did have several really good scenes. And where a lot of things pulled me away from the story, there were still a lot of things I highlighted because I loved. And in the end, when I was complaining to my best friend that nothing happened, she kept reminding me, "There's still tension. You've said that. And that's what you really read it for. Not the erotica and not the drama. You read it for the sexual tension." And I guess she knows me well enough that I had to agree :)

Flat-Out Matt by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Matt (Flat-Out Love #1.5) by Jessica Park ☆☆☆☆

This isn't exactly a novel. It's more of a companion piece. This book tells several of the scenes in Matt's point-of-view rather than in Julie's. It gives an interesting character sketch of him. We get a pretty good sense of him before, but seeing his motivations and his guilt really made him so much better in my mind. As did listening to him break rather than watching him break. The poor boy.

Not only does it have scenes told from his point-of-view, but two of the scenes are more graphic in nature. She originally wrote this companion piece for fans and this bit gives those fans more sexual tension, which is always a plus. There was just a slight bit with Julie, but even more with Matt.

And most of all, this book finishes the last. The previous book left the ending very wide open so that we can imagine how it's going to go and feel content in the ending. This book continues from that point and gives more to the ending. We get to see what happens instead of just imagining it. And the bickering between them is forever great, especially when they turn into the parents of a road trip in regards to Celeste. My favorite part is their innuendo bickering over cathedrals in the end, when Celeste isn't as naive as they think. Great innuendo :)

Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park

Flat-Out Love (Flat-Out Love #1) by Jessica Park ☆☆☆☆

I started reading this book as inspiration for my thesis. Since my thesis novel takes place during a road trip, the road trip feel of Finn's travels were what I was looking for to help me. Instead, it was the way a secret was revealed that helped.

I will admit I almost put this book down and refused to read another word. That was because I figured out the ending in the third chapter. While I like discovering things before I'm supposed to (because it makes me feel incredibly clever and I give props to the author for well hidden clues), discovering an ending that soon just didn't feel great. However, I trudged on, and ended up falling in love with it. This is one of my favorite books read so far.

I realized by the end that I didn't know as much as I did. Yes, I totally called the ending, but I realized that I was supposed to. As a reader, the journey was in her discovery of the secret, not our discovery. We had a sense of things that she wasn't seeing, and in he end she had to admit that she felt it, but wouldn't admit it to herself, which is what we saw. That's the part that helps my thesis, because my main character has a secret he doesn't even know, and I realized that it doesn't have to be a surprise for the reader, only a surprise for him. And that's really more help than I expected.

I really loved the characterizations in this book. There were some incredible characters here. The mom that is so unaware that she mistakes a MOM plaque as saying "WOW" instead. The hot, adventurous brother that's away traveling. The geeky brother that is the epitome of geekdom and somehow wins our hearts as readers. And the little sister that is so odd she's unforgettable. A good character always has to have some quirk and loads. And then there's Julie, the main character, and she's wonderful in that she just goes with everything. She doesn't let anything get her down and she's intent on making sure that everyone is as well adjusted as she tries to be. That's admirable.

I highly recommend this book. It's a free check-out on the Kindle Lending Library. But it's also very cheap as an ebook. I bought it immediately after reading it through the Lending Library. I'm looking forward to re-reading it one day.

Secrets 5 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 5 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

 87 pages. Yep. These 5 parts could definitely have been 1-2 full novels. Still not why it lost a star though. But I am glad it's over.

There were a lot of issues I had with this. At one place I even made a note wondering if he suddenly had three hands because of how something was worded.

Mostly I was screaming (and writing notes) with irritation at the characters. "Who do you think it is?" and "There was no way for you to know. I didn't know. No one knew." I was screaming "I know! I knew!" the whole time. But the wrap up from all the stalker stuff was very very intense, going to places I didn't expect.

I did, however, also expect and call the way things ended. I knew exactly who Emma would end up with. And I knew what was going to happen with Cole in the end and what he was going to change (that's all I'll say about it). I didn't like how Anna left things with graduate school though and thought that what Cole changed was a little contrived, but I still thought the story wrapped well and am now just glad it's all over. I'll miss reading about Cole, but I have other books to go through now.

Secrets 4 by H.M. Ward

Secrets 4 (Secrets series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

I am not liking the guy on the cover at all. Not only does he not fit my mental image of Cole, he just doesn't present the role of a wealthy businessman. He looks like a guy with a garage band and no real goals. But that's just me. We're also back to another short installment of 75 pages. If I was having to wait between installments for the next to be published, or was paying versus borrowing, I would be beyond upset. But, eh...

This segment was full of emotion, drama, and sexual tension. All a plus.

It's painful to be with Anna's emotions when Cole completely turns on her. She spent so much time with him and he still can't trust that she's not against him, not feeling the same weight of the things that are happening. Their both victims and he just makes it that much worse for her. Add that to the fact her stalker (who I'm still certain of) is getting bolder and really getting to her and I'm waiting for her to just snap. Though I'm still calling stupidity on the whole stalking thing, because with what happened before that, she was just asking for the next step in creepy-dom. She really should be more aware of the people around her.

I'm still loving Jesse and still feeling sorry for him at the same time. And though the date may not have ended well for him, I'm happy with the overall result of everything. As to be expected. The interactions with Cole at the bar great. And him shirtless is always a plus as well. But my favorite scene revolves around Emma in the beginning, when she's trying to knit and instead begins stabbing the yarn, saying "Die, beanie hat, die! I hate you!" That was a great scene. Add that to her "You two whack-jobs are perfect for each other" rant and I'm sold on her. Love her completely. Especially when she can complain about Cole in front of Cole.

While it's hot, steamy, snarky, and fun equally in this segment, it did lose a star. And that star was lost in language. The problem I have with erotica seems to always be the language used. A lot of it irks me and takes me out of the story because I'm mentally trying to correct it. There was also an unreasonable amount of childish begging and overuse of "please" in this that made me want to strangle Anna. But it still won me over.

The Arrangement 9 by H.M. Ward

The Arrangement 9 (Arrangement series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

As sexy as these covers have been, I've realized that none of them have anything to do with what is in each segment. Not a single one matches any scene. And honestly, the guy doesn't even resemble how Sean is described. Still nice to look at on my Kindle carousel though.

I've also come to the conclusion that if I wasn't borrowing these then I would have given up on them long ago. I've noticed from several Goodreads reviews that most people gave it up early because of the cost. These segments are only 121 pages each and cost as much as a full length ebook. Not worth the cost. Especially when each ends with a major cliffhanger! This one was no exception, but now I actually have to wait for the next one to come out before I can borrow it.

So one thing to notice is that this segment dropped a star compared to the rest. I'll admit that this series doesn't have the best writing, but it sucks me in. And usually it's that alone that attributes to my star count. I can look over writing problems when I can adequately lose myself in the story and the characters. This segment halted me though. I just couldn't get over what was happening in this one.

As much as I loved Mel in the jewelry store, their reason for being their irked me. I'm all for women's equality, but...it just seemed to forced to me. And regarding after that...Avery is effing stupid. I mean, she's always been, but I think she topped herself in levels of stupidity. I still love this story and will continue borrowing the segments as they come out, but my love of it is waning a little with these characters altering their norm too much. I guess I'll have to wait awhile for the next one to come out now. Sucks when you catch up in a series and have to play the waiting game.

Damaged 2 by H.M. Ward

Damaged 2 (Damaged series) by H.M. Ward ☆☆☆☆

So I had to read the sequel. Again, glad I got a free copy. While it didn't have as many typos and writing issues as the first, I still was wary of spending money on a copy.

Extremely glad I read this one and finished out the series between Sidney and Peter. Their story really needed to continue. While we already learned Sidney's past that she's trying to overcome in the first book, we didn't nearly touch on Peter's enough. In the second book, we find that Peter is hiding SO much more than Sidney or anyone else could bargain for.

I loved the push and pull interaction between the two. One minute he wants her and she doesn't and the next minute she wants him and he doesn't. The dynamics were just great. They were great characters to get to know.

I had some issues with the ending and didn't necessarily like it after all the hard work Sidney put in (no spoilers), but I was happy that their story ended. Extremely looking forward to continuing over to his brother's series and finding out just what goes on inside evil Sean's head.

Tempting the Player by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Tempting the Player (Gamble Brothers #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn) ☆☆☆☆

What can I say? I had to read the sequel to Tempting the Best Man as soon as I saw it pop up on Kindle suggestions. And I definitely wasn't disappointed.

I loved seeing Bridget again and getting more of a sense of her. And I loved seeing Chad's growth as a character and his internal issues with emotions. I have quickly fallen in love with these books where neither one will admit their feelings until it all blows up, and once they do admit their feelings it all blows up again. Bravo!

I honestly think my favorite part of this novel was Chase's face at the very end, but you'll have to read this book and it's predecessor to understand why. It was great!

While the characters weren't over exaggerated as they were in the previous book, they still had some exaggeration of their own. It was missing just a tad bit of realism which is where it lost a start obviously. That and the weight thing. Bridget keeps talking about her weight and curves being an issue and it's one of her worries about Chad when he's always with supermodels. My issue is that it never says exactly where she's at on that scale. Hell, a size 2 could be considered gigantic next to a supermodel, so that hesitation is the other reason it lost that star.

Regardless, totally love it and can't wait to read the next one!

Tempting the Best Man by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Tempting the Best Man by Jennifer L. Armentrout (J. Lynn) ☆☆☆☆

First and foremost, a warning. This book turned out to be erotica (surprised, but not displeased on my part). That being said, my review is probably NSFW because I will bring it up.

With that out of the way, this was an unexpected read for me. Seeing as how I'm already reading three books and once, I would have never thought of starting a fourth. Thing is, I got this book for my Kindle probably over a year ago and just came across it on my cloud last night so I thought I'd give it a try as light reading before bed.

Told myself I'd just read one chapter and that's it because I had to be up early. Next thing I know it's sunrise and I'm already at 51%, so a small nap, errand ran, and I got back to finish the rest as quickly as possible.

As a writer, I know that the first sentence, first paragraph, first page is the most crucial. That's what teaches your reader how to read the book (third person focalized, past tense in this case), but also what catches the readers attention. To tell the truth, I just about gave up after the first page. It seemed a little all over the place and the protagonist, Madison, seemed over dramatic and whiny. However, by the last sentence of the first chapter I was sold. I was a little lost when the next chapter started with a focalization on Chase's point-of-view, but once I got the hang of it, it was really perfect.

I liked the characters a lost, especially the mishaps between them. It's like a game of tag and they each keep missing the other, completely out of sync. Great story line. But I also had a lot of things I didn't like. I still felt Madison was a little over dramatic, but I mean, by the end I was kind of feeling the same way with the events. Most specifically though I had a problem with language.

I already addressed language as a stopper for why I almost didn't finish the first page, but it's more than that even. Towards the end there is also an uneven use of father/dad and mother/mom. It sounds really strange. Calling him Dad and then calling him Father just throws me out of the story. Father is much to formal in a story like this. But that's just a few problems I have.

It wasn't just the flow of the words and story, this book actually included a lot of my idiosyncrasies that drive me nuts. This isn't the first erotica I've read, but so help me if I have to read "her sex" or "his sex" ever again I'll strangle someone. Body parts have names! And "sex" is not it. Sex is an event not a noun. This is especially true, when "erection" is pointed out several times, but then later called "his sex" which drove me nuts. Just get on with the story, we get the idea, no hand holding necessary. That use of language takes me out. Let's also go with the use of "rear" used often in this book when "ass" is also used regularly. Just stick with "ass," the characters are in their twenties and "rear" is very old fashioned and prude. It's the word my grandmother uses.

I really would have liked to see a better ending. Like an explanation of why their signals crossed toward the end. It seemed like it all went out the window and forgot half the climax of the ending (no pun intended). The miscommunication was a big part of the story for the last several chapters and it is glossed over completely in the end. And I kind of want to know what happens after, not just imagine it. I want to see the characters more. Who knows though, Chase's brothers are getting their own books too, so maybe I'll see more of Chase after with those sequels.

Overall, 5 stars for storyline, very pleasurable (again no pun intended) light reading, but a lot taken off for use of language. If you can get past the poor use of language, you'll love this.

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver ☆☆☆☆

Anger. Anger. Anger. That the first thing that comes to mind with this final installment of the Delirium series.

First of all, I was obviously way behind on finishing this series so I had been struggling against all costs to avoid spoilers where I could. I did catch one though that said no reader could possibly like the ending. I had that in mind, but a friend of mine read it before me and told me it wasn't as bad as others said. I had the consolation that Lauren Oliver said the ending was meant to allow a choice, not just for the characters, but for the reader. But ahhhh, my friend lied. The ending was way worse than I expected and she admitted she lied so she wouldn't give it away.

I'm not going to give spoilers either and say exactly what happened in the ending. However, I will say why I'm angry overall. I'm okay with open endings in books. Sometimes it's necessary so that we know the characters are moving on from the book and because sometimes we need to know that not all stories end with big bow of strings wrapped up and happy endings for all. I'm not naive to happy endings, I knew a war was going to break out. I made peace with that. What I didn't make peace with was a WIDE OPEN ending! There seemed to be no closer to the novel (or series) at all. I can't handle that, as a reader or as a writer. It killed me.

And even though I'm starting to move past my anger, it's still there gnawing at me in the back of my mind. There's nothing to do but carry on to the next book, the next series, after all. The ending is also the only reason I dropped a star on this book, because other than the ending I loved every minute of the book. And really, what can I expect when the one thing I hated about her other book, Before I Fall, was the way that one ended as well.

Black Dawn by Rachel Caine

Black Dawn (Morganville #12) by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆

While I still love the series, I had a lot of problems with this book in particular. Things just weren't clicking for me at all.

Partly it's because I still don't like the format change. I am starting to like it being told from multiple perspectives because I love hearing what makes the other characters tic, but the fact that every perspective is in first person except for Claire's will forever get on my nerves. I can easily jump from perspective to perspective, but I cannot jump from first to third person like that. Not only does it drive me insane, but it is confusing as hell, that's the point of consistency.

Aside from that quip (that I'm sure I'll have with the next book as well), there was something about the story itself that wasn't working for me. I want to say that it didn't quite seem like it had the fear necessary for the story line. Everyone seemed to be worrying about the wrong things and wasting a lot of time. They did a lot better locked in the library in Blacke than they did locked in Town Hall in this book. And even the characters just seemed off for me. I don't feel for them as much.

I did buy the next book as a pre-order, but I have a feeling it'll be sitting on my book shelf for awhile while I catch up on some other series that have been waiting for me throughout the entire Fall semester of school. Only a few more weeks before Spring semester starts...

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

Bite Club (Morganville #10) by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆

Oh my, this book has changed all my perceptions of the Morganville series. I don't believe I have ever given any of the books less than five stars, and yet, this book almost got three and a half--not even the full four stars.  And in nearly all of the reviews I have written, I've mentioned that I often don't even care about the story line because I love the characters so much. That changed here.

First thing, there was a major change in structure that entirely threw me off. The books have always been from one point-of-view and in third person. If you wanted to be in the characters themselves and in first person, you read the short stories she posts on her website. In this book, though, all that changed. The structure was mostly the same, but in almost every chapter there was an "interruption" of Shane's point-of-view in first person perspective. The change was unsettling. Yes, I did like seeing inside his head, but after nine previous books with a set structure, I didn't find myself enjoying the interruptions so much.

Second thing, I actually hated all the characters in this book. I hated each and every one of them and each for their own reason. That's why it would have gotten three and a half stars, because I still liked the world, story, and all, but the characters all pissed me off. That being said, they redeemed themselves in the end....somewhat. I still have some reservations. The end of the book is left at a point where a lot of talking needs to be done and forgiveness be made, and I couldn't yet find my forgiveness for all of them either. I couldn't believe how angry I got. (I do love Myrnin though, he's insane and had some quotable things I was gushing to my friend about as she read it before me.)

I'm definitely still hooked on the story and characters, but I'm going to consider each book more closely now. I expected to fall head over heels for this book like the others and it just didn't happen. And I even realized that suddenly the story behind the characters had become important to me because I thought things got tied up too easily in some situations. I'm looking forward to the next book, but not necessarily as anxiously as before.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments #1) by Cassandra Clare ☆☆☆☆

This book started out iffy for me, where it would have been lucky to get three stars, but it won four from me int he end.

The first issue I had was point-of-view switching. I prefer stories to stay in one POV throughout, or to stick with alternating POV chapters, but POV switching several times in one chapter sets me off. This is how the first chapter starts, with several POV changes that I got pissed off. But a friend urged me to keep reading. The POV switching did diminish a lot (and in one instance of storytelling by a character I actually liked the change), but it still lost a little something for me. 

And then, my first mistake with this book was reading a negative review that highlighted similarities with several fandoms, the most obvious being Harry Potter. I can entirely see how this story spawned from Harry Potter fanfiction. I'm sure I would have eventually noticed these similarities on my own through reading, but they were all laid out for me in one shiny place. Here's the thing, for me there is a line to be crossed when it comes to being influenced by another story and flat out using elements from those stories. For example, in working on a vampire story I suddenly realized I was setting in Texas, I quickly had to rethink my choice of states because I didn't want to be compared to Morganville.

On to the good stuff. This story had one thing that guarantees a good book for me specifically: the arrogant, snarky bad boy who is secretly broken and trying to be good. Oh, how I love those bad boys! And Jace was just the guy for me! I really liked the characters, and loved them even more from how they differed from their influenced counterparts. For example, it became obvious that Clary was based off Ginny from Harry Potter, but I really loved that Clary's red hair was curly. That detail set her apart for me. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions with each other. And there was one thing I totally called from the beginning that had my friend rolling because I guessed it so soon and she couldn't confirm or deny my suspicion. That's another thing that makes a good book for me, when I figure something out before the main character of the book, and not because it's blatantly obvious, but because the writer left good clues for me to decipher.

In the end, I'm glad I gave this series a shot and I do intend to keep reading it, even though the heavy influences of other stories was a little too much for me. And I can't wait to see what happens next. The surprise ending (though not a surprise thanks to reading that bad review too soon) did not bother me at all, even though I know it upset a lot of people, but I have faith in where everything goes from here. I want to see these characters grow even further! Glad there is a movie in the works :)

Hana by Lauren Oliver

Hana: A Delirium Short Story (Delirium #1.5) by Lauren Oliver ☆☆☆☆

Why yes, it is almost 5am. I just finished reading this side story and I wanted to put my thoughts down before I lost them.

This short story (more like novella length) is told from Hana's point-of-view, which is really refreshing. Partly, I like her point-of-view more. This probably explains my earlier aversion to Lena's point-of-view at the start of Delirium. But it wasn't the only reason I liked this.

There were a lot of things I wanted to know that went on behind the scenes, and I was able to see those things. It gave me a wider look of the story and helped me answer some questions. Questions that Lena hadn't bothered to ask Hana herself, or at least didn't think enough to relate them in her narration of events.

I even got to see how Hana first thought of Lena and how she began to see her. This idea, specifically in this story, made me ask another question that was not answered and I wonder if the thought is entirely my own creation, although it seems there is a set up for it. And the end was another cliff hanger, just like the novel itself. But, it was a cliff hanger that seemed to relate to a suspicion I had in the novel. It didn't quite answer my suspicion, only made me more suspicious about it. So in the end, it answered a lot of questions I had, but also left two gaping ones for me to consider. Oh well, I'm off to read the sequel until I pass out around sunrise, we'll see if those questions get any more answers or not.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver ☆☆☆☆

I had high expectations for this book from the start, from the moment I read the synopsis. Love is a disease that needs to be cured. Yes! After horrible and severe broken relationships in my past, I could see exactly how this fear would develop. And I like the further description in text in that love is the cause of the heart giving out, from the bad (a literal broken heart) to even the good (the racing heart beat that accompanies butterflies in the stomach). Everything, all of it, causes stress on the heart that eventually causes it to give out. It makes perfect sense.

My issue was that I had a hard time initially getting into the story. I wasn't excited when I was reading it and didn't have a desire to keep reading like my life depended on it. Thus, it took several days to read it instead of my usual two days or less. The issue was world building. Although it is the present and can easily become a reality, there was just something about it that wasn't gripping me. Maybe it was that Lena was so stuck in her beliefs that I wasn't able to question the world with her as a narrator. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what it was. However, I emotionally connected in chapter five when Alex was introduced. And it wasn't because I was hoping for a love story (even though I do love love stories). It was that everything started changing and the descriptions became a little more natural. And I was a little more excited to read than in the first few chapters when I nearly put the book down.

Overall, I really liked the story, and even though I had entirely planned on reading something else after this, I'm thinking I might just move on to the sequel. It's already out and I'm already in this world, so why not. And besides...it ended in a cliff hanger, and I hate cliff hanger endings. They make me sad :( The only thing I'm worried about is that I know the next book ends in an even bigger cliff hanger and I don't know if I can handle waiting so long for the next book after reading that. We shall see.

Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles

Chain Reaction (Perfect Chemistry #3) by Simone Elkeles ☆☆☆☆

Not my favorite book of the series, but still a good read. My favorite has to be the second book. I fell in love with Carlos and it was great seeing him in this book again. I especially like the guy, Giancarlo, that plays Carlos in the book trailers, but that's beside the point. Speaking of which though, my favorite part of this series is the book trailers for this book and the last. They fully encompass what happens in the book in just a few short scenes, that makes me want to read the book faster. And if it ever becomes a movie, I hope they keep the same guys playing the brothers.

Oh, the Fuentes brothers. How suave and sexy they are, all cocky and knowing they have it going on. I love the bad boys. But that's no surprise...

Things I like about this book:
- Luis doesn't end up with a white girl like Alex and Carlos. That was becoming a bit of a cliche match up with the last book.
- The brothers really spent time bonding. They casually avoided each other before, but in this book they came together in all the best ways, even when odds were against them.
- Spanish code-switching. The Spanish is well integrated into the story and it makes the story more real for me since there is a lot of code-switching where I live. Even though I had to look up translations for a lot of it....

Thing I didn't like about this book:
- That all the brothers end up with the happily ever afters in high school. Each one of them met his girl in senior year and couldn't live without her. Sure I could suspend my disbelief and go for it, with the exception that this book clearly mentions a statistic that only 5% of couples stay together after high school. All three of them in the 5%? I doubt it. Still love the love stories though.
- The epilogues. I've despised them in every book. It feels like a fan fiction attempt at wrapping the story up, not letting the story really speak for itself. The only thing I really benefited from this last epilogue is seeing that the brothers are still incredibly close even after twenty-six years.

I'm glad I finished the series out. I'm going to miss the Fuentes brothers. I'm not really going to miss their girlfriends. There were things about each of them that I just couldn't stand, but I loved the boys enormously and it was worth the read on each book for those boys alone. And worth it for the covers too, seeing as how the first cover is what drew me to the series :)

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades #1) by E. L. James ☆☆☆☆

This isn't necessarily a young adult book, but then there are a few times I read outside YA. I know that everyone picked up this book for the erotica, and I had to pick up the book to see what all the fuss was about. Overall the writing wasn't that great and the plot seemed simple, contrived, and cliche. The erotica was definitely worth the read, but that isn't why I ended up loving the book in the end.

The characters grew on me. And with everything they did and went through, it reminded me of all the good and bad things in my past relationships, things I hadn't thought about in a long time. Surprisingly, it helped me cope with a lot of the bad and think about it in a new way. And the good....it reminded me that I actually don't want to be single forever and I need to start opening myself up to people again.

So despite the bad writing that greeted me, and the erotica that pulled everyone else in, this book did more for me than any of that. And on top of all of that, it ended with a cliff-hanger so big I immediately started the next book even though it was already sunrise because I had stayed up all night finishing the first. That's always a sign of a great book.

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine

Lord of Misrule (Morganville #5) by Rachel Caine ☆☆☆☆

I'm so behind in this series, but mainly that's because I pace myself. If I read the whole series at once I wouldn't have time to read anything else.

This book could have easily gotten five stars from me, but it felt too short. I'm definitely picking up Carpe Corpus next so that it doesn't feel as short. The book didn't completely blow me away, but it was like coming home again. I love Morganville and it's Texas influences, which is probably why it makes me feel so at home. 

And I love Shane! I've loved him since the first book. I love the bad boy with the snarky comments. The bad boy that tries so hard to be good. So it's a given. I love how all the characters and written and how they interact with each other. I have a problem with some of the physical descriptions, but that's not that important.

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead ☆☆☆☆

I almost want to say this book was lucky to get four stars, but that's where I am really conflicted. There is a lot wrong with the book, but there is still also a lot that is right with it.

The story was just as gripping as all the other books in this series and the series is spun off from, Vampire Academy. And even though I enjoyed reading it, I found it took me awhile to get into it and I didn't find it that hard to set it down if something else came up. The culprit? There was no surprises.

The end of the Vampire Academy series ended with major surprises. The clues Mead left ended up leading in several directions, ones that seemed obvious and were wrong in the end and ones that I didn't see coming, but became obvious in hindsight. Bloodlines was similar. While there were a lot of obvious things going on, there were still surprises throughout. But in this book? Nothing surprised me. And I think that was the biggest let down when I finished it right now. I figured out all the clues before Sydney did and I hated her for her naivety as a character. And the clues were so obvious that I was hoping for those surprising twists that the other books had, but I didn't find them.

My other problem with the book was typos. Both the series before this and this series is riddled with typos and a new copy editor definitely needs to be hired, or at least someone needs to start doing their job because I've never read any other series with this many typos. Along the same lines as the typos, there are a lot of "writing techniques" used in here that no trained writer would actually use. In fact, some of the ones I caught were techniques I was told to avoid in my first fiction class for my undergrad Creative Writing degree.

Despite the flaws, I still liked the story. And most of all, I still love the characters. I fell in love with Adrian even more and wished I could smack him upside the head several times. And I realized just how much I missed his snark, though I would have loved even more of it.

I thought it was ridiculous that the next book in the series will be out in February, less than a year away. To me it showed why there is are many typos, because there isn't enough editing time to be had. But still, I can't help but be glad that I don't have that long to wait to keep this story going. Can't wait :)